NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seeds, a financial technology firm that empowers financial advisors to offer clients a more intentional and personalized investing experience, announces the launch of its strategic advisory board. The diverse group of trusted advisors includes C-suite executives, visionary entrepreneurs, technologists, and change makers who will partner with Seeds’ leadership team on its strategic growth plans.
Seeds provides financial advisors with an opportunity to design dynamic values-aligned investment portfolios to meet their clients’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-based objectives. The firm was founded by financial advisors seeking solutions for their clients. Seeds, which has experienced substantial growth since its founding, sought to assemble its advisory board with members of varied experience to deepen and complement its wealth management expertise and who share Seeds’ vision to create broad impact through values-aligned investing. Actor, activist, and entrepreneur Adrian Grenier, best known for his leading role in the television series “Entourage,” joined the board to support Seeds’ mission to shift trillions of dollars in retail assets to more sustainable and socially conscious investments.
“Creating wealth shouldn’t be at the expense of what we believe in as global citizens, and these days it really doesn’t have to,” said Grenier. “Over the years, I’ve had to work too hard at customizing my portfolio to better align with my values, but now with tools that Seeds offers, it’s easier than ever. I can actively support companies that seek profit while protecting our community and our planet. I feel at home among Seeds’ strategic advisors and excited to support them in their mission.”
Seeds Advisory Board members include:
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Nidhi Chadda | Institutional and ESG Investing
Nidhi Chadda has 20+ years of expertise as an investment banker, strategic consultant, and investor. She’s Founder and CEO of Enzo Advisors LLC, a global sustainability consulting firm focused on corporations and institutional investors. In addition, Nidhi provides mentorship to various accelerator platforms, is an angel investor, and a board advisor for several early-stage growth companies.
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Barbara J. Cooperman | Corporate Marketing
Barbara Cooperman has 20+ years as a general manager and Global Chief Marketing Officer in both B2B and B2C sectors. She has a proven track record in diverse industries including cyber security and risk consulting, AI and data-driven technology, consumer products, and more at such companies as Kroll, LexisNexis, Elsevier, Revlon, and Clairol. She serves on several corporate and non-profit boards and is an NACD Governance Fellow.
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Adrian Grenier | Sustainability
Beyond his fame as an actor, Adrian Grenier has spent the last two decades as an entrepreneur and investor, running and supporting nonprofits and businesses that he believes can change the world for the better. As a UN Environment Ambassador and the co-founder of Lonely Whale, Adrian is deeply committed to conservation and sustainability efforts around the world. He's also the creator of SHFT, the world's first online marketplace for sustainable design and lifestyle, and he’s directed and produced six documentary films to inspire positive social impact. Adrian serves as co-founder and general partner of DuContra Ventures, a venture fund bringing investors, founders, and thought leaders together to create a yield beyond money.
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Randy Haase | Investment Management
Randy Haase is a 30-year Wall Street veteran and experienced investor at Loeb Partners, Baron Capital, Duquesne Capital, and AllianceBernstein. Randy was integral to the construction of the Seeds investment platform and initial launch of the Seeds Equity Portfolios, which are customized for client personal values and financial goals. Randy continues to advise Seeds on fundamental investment strategy.
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Terry Mollner | Socially Responsible Investing
Terry Mollner has more than 40 years of ESG and sustainability experience as a socially responsible industry pioneer. Terry is the co-founder of the Calvert Social Investment Funds, now with $31 billion+ under management. He helped broker the deal for Unilever’s purchase of Ben & Jerry’s and served on its board for 18 years. He’s the author of several books focused on his vision for “Common Good Capitalism,” and he currently serves as a founder of Trusts for All Children.
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Pratap Penumalli | Technology and Product Development
Pratap Penumalli spent several years at Google, where he helped launch Chrome, the Google Workspace business unit, and Google Domains. Since Google, Pratap has led product and operations at several venture-backed startups and worked with Human Ventures as a Partner in New York to accelerate seed stage portfolio companies. He now serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Galaxy Labs, a venture studio building moonshot solutions to systemic issues facing our democracy and humanity.
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Alexandra Poe | Legal
Alexandra Poe has more than 25 years of legal and board experience in the investment management sector, including in general counsel and Chief Legal Officer roles. She’s been a long-time advocate of impact investing and inclusion initiatives, including co-founding High Water Women Foundation and chairing the HWW Symposium: Investing for Impact. She’s currently the Chair of the Private Funds Practice at the law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed.
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Xander Schultz | Social Justice and Product Development
Xander Schultz is a social justice entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. He has committed his entrepreneurial and philanthropic focus to social justice, having co-founded the refugee aid organization When We Band Together with his wife Zoë. At Galaxy Labs, Xander focuses on building a community around causes and creating innovative solutions like DefeatByTweet and One For Democracy to tackle systemic problems. He is the host of the Radical Ones Podcast, where he discusses issues that define our time with leading change-makers.
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Lazaro Tiant | Data Analytics, ESG Investing
Lazaro (Laz) Tiant has been integral to Seeds’ focus on incorporating meaningful data and analysis into its investment process in order to meet ESG and financial standards. Laz is an Associate Director at Sustainalytics (now Morningstar), with prior experience at MSCI, which are two of the industry’s leading ESG data providers. Laz remains at the forefront of the evolution of ESG metrics and company reporting as part of the investment process.
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Claire Veuthey | ESG and Impact Investing
Claire Veuthey is an ESG and impact investing specialist with experience across industries and the world. Claire has served as a Technical Advisor to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) during its formation in 2017, the Head of ESG - Social Impact Investing for Wells Fargo Asset Management, and an advisor to various social-impact and startup ecosystems. Most recently, Claire launched her own firm, Rizoma Ventures, helping businesses identify their impact investing strategy and communicate it clearly to stakeholders.
“As financial advisors, we built Seeds to address a very specific need for ourselves and our peers,” said Zach Conway, founder and CEO of Seeds. “Our Advisory Board’s multidisciplinary insight and depth of expertise will elevate our thinking around what we’re building. We’re thrilled to have such a diverse group of leading minds to challenge and push us to build the best platform for our direct clients and the most rewarding investment experience for the end investor.”
Seeds recently announced major partnerships with JUST Capital and AllianceBernstein. Learn more about how Seeds improves prospecting and deepens client engagement for financial advisors at www.seedsinvestor.com.
About Seeds
Launched in 2019, Seeds is a leading financial technology firm that empowers advisors to offer clients a more intentional, purposeful, and personalized investing experience. Through Seeds’ client experience platform, advisors can understand investor profiles, assess holdings for financial and ESG risks, present tailored portfolio solutions, and continually engage. In tandem with the technology experience, Seeds acts as sub-advisor to RIAs. To learn more, please visit www.seedsinvestor.com.
